Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

A good YA novel about the Trojan War that I'd recommend for readers of any age is Inside the Walls of Troy by Clemence McLaren. It's told from the POV of Helen and Cassandra. And although I haven't read Laurel Corona's Penelope's Daughter yet, it's on my TBR pile and it's supposed to be quite good.

I just finished Helen of Troy, A Novel, by Margaret George. I was a bit apprehensive, as I had tried to read her bio of Mary Queen of Scots, and found it very dull, but this book was very good.

It makes Helen and Paris out to be much more sympathetic characters than I always found them. More "pawns of the gods" than selfish children. It also follows Helen after the Trojan war and the homecoming of Agamemmnon, etc.

The novel is seen through Helen's eyes, from her girlhood in Sparta, to old age, and she really makes a compelling narrator. The theme is, as usual, mortals attempting to change their fate, almost always unsucessfully.

The only part of the story that I find silly, as always, is the fact that half a dozen people suspected the Trojan horse had people in it, but nobody checked, or at least placed guards. But in total, the novel is very good.

Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
_______________________________________________
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

[quote=""The Czar""]I just finished Helen of Troy, A Novel, by Margaret George. I was a bit apprehensive, as I had tried to read her bio of Mary Queen of Scots, and found it very dull, but this book was very good.

It makes Helen and Paris out to be much more sympathetic characters than I always found them. More "pawns of the gods" than selfish children. It also follows Helen after the Trojan war and the homecoming of Agamemmnon, etc.

The novel is seen through Helen's eyes, from her girlhood in Sparta, to old age, and she really makes a compelling narrator. The theme is, as usual, mortals attempting to change their fate, almost always unsucessfully.

The only part of the story that I find silly, as always, is the fact that half a dozen people suspected the Trojan horse had people in it, but nobody checked, or at least placed guards. But in total, the novel is very good.[/quote]

I am on the fence about this book, because George leaves out a great deal, including Helen's earlier abduction by Theseus, and for some reason didn't place the novel in its proper Late Bronze Age setting.

The very best retelling of the Trojan War IMO is Eric Shanower's fabulous graphic novel series Age of Bronze.

Last edited by lauragill on Fri July 15th, 2011, 2:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

[quote=""Margaret""]There are a ton of novels revolving around the Trojan War. A recent one of literary value is David Malouf's Ransom. I wrote a review of this for my own website, as well as a longer review for the U.K. archaeology website Heritage-Key. I had to chuckle when I discovered they had edited me into a Brit - the funniest part is that I didn't even notice until halfway through my reread of the review.[/quote]

I recently joined HFO and so have just discovered this thread. I'd missed this book. Thanks! I've been working on a novel about Briseis myself and for a while I avoided other people's fictionalizations, but I've got my own historical reconstruction set in my mind and love to read other people's now (not always models of historical accuracy as some of you have noted...). Another YA novel is Troy by Adele Geras. It's been awhile since I read it, but it's another one that tells it from a female perspective.

Another book on the Trojan War is Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy. I've been reading her books on Roman Britain and enjoying them, so thought I'd give it a try (also ordered her re-telling of The Odyssey). I haven't received it, yet.

Like Sutcliff's other books, it was written for YA. So while it may not have the depth of other books on the Trojan War, if you've read any of Sutcliff's works then you know her style and language is sophisticated and very appropriate for adult readers as well.